NEPAD PLANNING AND COORDINATING AGENCY

Transcription

1 NEPAD PLANNING AND COORDINATING AGENCY PROCUREMENT NOTICE ADVERTISEMENT Country: NEPAD Agency based in Midrand, South Africa Description of the assignment: Development of a continental information management system for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI) in Africa Project name: Procurement No: ASTII NPCA/ESTI/ASTII/001/2015 Period of services (if applicable): Nine (9) Months Proposals for Tender Ref.No: NPCA/ESTI/ASTII/001/2015should be submitted to: For electronic Submission: the message must be clearly marked APPLICATION FOR CONSULTANCY Development of a continental information management system for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI) in Africa in the Subject Line. [email protected] no later than Hours on 4 December 2015 AND In addition to the Electronic submissions, applicants should deliver hard copies to: NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency Block B, Gateway Park, Corner Challenger & Columbia Avenues, Midridge Office Park, Midrand Gauteng, South Africa Phone : /3634 The envelope must be clearly marked APPLICATION FOR CONSULTANCY Development of a continental information management system for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI) in Africa, and Do not open except in the presence of the NPCA Tender Board at the top, addressed to: The Chairperson, Tender Board

2 NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency International Business Gateway Midridge Office Park, Block B corner of Challenger & Columbia Avenue P.O. Box 1234 Halfway House, Midrand, South Africa 1685 Technical and Financial Proposals are requested to be submitted in separate envelopes both included in one envelope. Consultants must submit an original and six copies of each proposal Any request for clarification must be sent in writing, or by standard electronic communication to the [email protected]. NEPAD will respond in writing or by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all consultants. 1. BACKGROUND The 25th ordinary session of the Assembly of the African Union held in June 2015 has committed through Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.572(XXV) to the establishment of a team of ten Heads of State and Government to champion education, science and technology and they are tasked to report annually on the state of education, science and technology in Africa. The Assembly s decision comes at this crucial time when indicators for measuring post Sustainable Development Goals ought to be adopted and that the African Union has prioritised Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI) in the Agenda 2063 noting as well the Monitoring and Evaluation component in the implementation of STISA-24. To this end, an information management system anchored on a repository for ESTI data and statistics will facilitate the reporting processes and enhance evidencebased policy-making. Such an information system becomes therefore part of policy process and a tool for monitoring and assessing the status of ESTI in Africa. There exist previous efforts on which an information system of ESTI shall build upon. These include:(i) the STI information system initiative at the African Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation (AOSTI) for which a feasibility study and a business plan were concluded with the assistance of the International Telecommunication Union; (ii) the collection of data through the R&D and Innovation surveys conducted in the context of the African Science, Technology and Innovation indicators Initiative (ASTII) spearheaded by the NEPAD Agency and (iii) the work on indicators for education spearhead by the Association for Development of Education in Africa (ADEA). These Terms of Reference invite consultants to submit proposals to develop and implement a user-friendly continental information system which uses modern web technologies. 2. OBJECTIVE

3 The main objective of this consultancy is to develop and operationalize a web-based platform Interactive Information System (IIS) for ESTI in Africa which will enable inputs from various stakeholders (Member States, Regional Economic Communities, International Organizations and other relevant partners) and be user friendly. 3. MAIN RESPONSIBILITY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE SERVICES The consultant/consulting firm is expected to: a) Engage in with institutions/organisations that have collected relevant ESTI data and built related statistics e.g. ADEA for education, NEPAD Agency for R&D and Innovation, AOSTI for the scientific production; b) Produce modules/subroutines to respond to identified needs and ensure interoperability; c) Build and operationalize a web-based platform interactive information system (IIS) for ESTI in Africa which will enable inputs from various stakeholders; d) Ensure that the platform provide a robust set of communication and reporting tools, offer interactive validation of data entry by authorised users, direct access to the repository; e) Maintain the platform during the period of consultancy; f) Develop a training kit and users manual as guide for the users of the IIS; g) Conduct training of trainers and users in order to impart the necessary skills to manage the different layers of the platform(at national, regional and continental levels); h) Undertake any other activity deemed necessary to conclude this assignment. In conducting this assignment, the Consultant shall pay particular attention to the following issues: - Architecture design: The architecture of the web-platform shall be designed to take advantage of the newer web technologies with optimal bandwidth and power utilization. The architecture should allow further upgrades, expansions and new developments, without critical time laps and elevated infrastructure management costs; - Security: The platform shall host sensitive data and should incorporate security means, such as firewalls, to prevent cyber-attacks; it should also provide back-up and recovery means for the databases and all critical network components in case of breakdown; - Compatibility: the platform shall ensure compatibility with common operating systems (Windows, Mac Os, Unix, Linux distributions, etc.), and browsers (Internet explorer, firefox, chrome, etc.);

4 - Interoperability: the platform shall be designed in such a way that its interfaces are able to interoperate with other existing platforms, such as ITU s existing statistical platforms; - Languages: the platform shall support multiple languages. It shall be available initially in the African Union languages: English, French, Portuguese, Arabic and Spanish; and - Timeline: the Consultant shall provide the project implementation timeline which defines the milestones and all critical phases for its successful implementation. 4. Transfer of Knowledge/Training (when appropriate) The Consultant shall provide a strategy to train the trainers and users of the platform for data input, analyses, reporting, and basic trouble-shooting. 5. Key Deliverables The following deliverables are required for this project: A detailed development web platform project plan; A fully operational web based IIS platform fine-tuned and ready to use at the nodes and hubs; A developed web-based IIS hosted in cloud with a guarantee of a high level of service, security, bandwidth, and daily backups; Training of trainers and users; A training kit and users manual of the IIS. 6. Assignment Reports and Schedule of Reporting Inception report: two weeks after commencement of assignment; Mid-term Progress report: four months after commencement of assignment; Draft final report: six months after commencement of assignment; Final report: nine months after commencement of assignment. 7. Services and resources to be provided by the Client The client will provide to the Consultant previous works done so far on the Information System: - the AOSTI STI information system feasibility study and business plan - the functional and technical specification document of the web platform - AOSTI, ASTII R&D and Innovation surveys and related data ; - Available indicators for education spearhead by the Association for Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) - DEIP training modules - Any other relevant documents The Client will support the web hosting facilities and will provide statistics and business intelligence software for the deployment and management of statistical information. 8. COPYRIGHTS

5 All materials / documents arising out of this consultancy work shall remain the property of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA). 9. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS The following documents must accompany the application: a. COVER LETTER b. TECHNICAL PROPOSAL CONTAINING : Company Profile/Detailed Curriculum Vitae of consultants; Approach and methodology to be used in undertaking the assignment; Proposed Work Plan and timeframe; Details of similar assignments previously undertaken. a. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL o Prices should be in USD or ZAR (only for South African bidders). 10. EVALUATION The Tender Board of the NEPAD Agency will evaluate the bids, using the cumulative analysis method. - When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the consultant whose offer receives the highest score out of a predetermined set of weighted technical and financial scores. - Total score=technical Score (80%) + Financial Score (20%) 11. ANNEXES ANNEX I Terms of Reference ANNEX II Financial Proposal The New Partnership for Africa s Development (NEPAD) is a vision and strategic framework for Africa s renewal that is based on a shared understanding that it is imperative to eradicate poverty and position African countries on the road to sustained economic growth and development. NEPAD works closely with the African Union Commission (AUC), regional economic communities, national governments, research institutions and civil society organisations in its attempts to eradicate poverty in Africa whilst also voicing Africa s concerns at the global level. For more information go to: